Riders describe frustration with WRTA bus service

Wednesday

Jul 10, 2013 at 9:50 PMJul 10, 2013 at 10:14 PM

By Alli Knothe, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

About 50 people crowded into a conference room on the third floor of the new Worcester Regional Transit Authority hub Wednesday afternoon to voice their opinions on the bus system and proposed alterations.

"We've had some problems since we've been here," WRTA administrator Stephen F. O'Neil said at the outset of the hearing.

He told riders the proposed changes will allow buses to run on time, and he went so far as to call the current schedule a "piece of fiction" because several buses are so frequently late.

On June 1, the WRTA opened a $16.3 million facility adjacent to Union Station at 60 Foster St., three blocks from City Hall, where most passengers can pick up buses.

He said that in June 2012, the WRTA made 22,000 bus trips and had 19 missed trips. During the same month this year, the system had 24,000 trips and 207 missed trips.

After the WRTA claimed to have improved service on six bus routes, Mr. O'Neil said, three of them continue to be "real problems."

Last week, the authority added buses to three of its routes to cut down on the wait times, which a handful of riders at the meeting said commonly ranged from 45 minutes to an hour when it used to be a few minutes. The WRTA also added late-night service on weekdays to routes 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 26 and 30.

Mr. O'Neil told riders at the afternoon meeting, and a 5:30 p.m. hearing at Union Station, that some of the route problems are out of the authority's hands.

"We don't control the streets," he said, noting traffic holdups caused by construction. "All of that impedes our ability to stay on schedule."

He gave the example of the Belmont Street Bridge, which will be under construction next year and will force the WRTA to reroute and mostly likely add to people's commute times.

Dozens of complaints about the system were voiced during the meeting.

Several people called for the system to simply return to the way it was, while others laid out ideas to correct issues in the schedule and smooth out the problem routes. Many noted they were pleased with the new facility but hoped the issues with service would be quickly fixed.

Janice Anderson said she would gladly pay $2 per ride rather than $1.50 to be able to catch a bus every 30 minutes instead of every hour.

"I'm willing to pay more money for better service," she said.

Other grievances included "rude" and "inconsiderate" drivers, absent bus stop signs and poor service for the visually impaired.

The WRTA has plans to fix bugs in the technology at the hub, which is affecting the digital signs in the terminal and the audio system.

Mr. O'Neil said a round of changes will be implemented in late August. It takes more than a month because after the public hearings on the topic, the plan needs to be presented and approved by the board at its meeting July 18, and then it will take time to put the changes into place.

Attendees said there should be a bus stop on either side of the street by City Hall.

"You're not going to make me happy until every bus stops at City Hall," said Raymond Samko. He said it doesn't make sense to force people to trudge from City Hall in the blistering heat to get to the air-conditioned hub.

Others agreed the hub is cut off from downtown. Many end up walking to the station rather than taking a bus because of the delays, but that is not an option for the handicapped or people such as Carol Youngstrom, who recently had lung surgery and can walk only short distances before losing her breath.

"The hub is (nice) but not convenient for people who use it," Scott Ricker said.

As time goes on and riders get used to the facility, having the hub next to Union Station will be an advantage for the city, Mr. O'Neil said.

But to better transport people around the downtown area, the WRTA plans to add free shuttle bus service that will stop in front of City Hall and a loop to the hub every 10 minutes.

The plans for that shuttle are not yet solidified, and it has not been determined which hours it would be running and whether it would be a permanent or temporary feature.

The authority has also been asking for feedback from riders through surveys. So far, Mr. O'Neil said, more than 300 surveys have been completed, and results will be released in the near future.

But at the end of the meeting, there was skepticism the feedback would be taken into account.

"I hope what we're saying means something," Mr. Samko said.

Mr. O'Neil assured customers that while the authority will not implement every suggestion, the authority is taking the meetings seriously and "making changes as they make sense."

Reminding riders that the new system has only been in place for about 40 days, he said now that there is funding to make alterations and improvements as needed, he is hopeful the system will come to set an example for the rest of the Commonwealth.

"This is going to be much better," he said.

Contact Alli Knothe at aknothe@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @KnotheA